Tsi Akim Maidu Tribe celebrates 10th annual Indigenous Peoples Days

Descendants of famous Native Americans, including Geronimo, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse, will join members of the local Maidu tribe in a four day celebration tomorrow through Monday. The tenth annual Indigenous Peoples Days is expected to draw hundreds of native and non native supporters, including Mohawk musicians from the East Coast and Maori healers from New Zealand.

The gathering of descendants is a new addition to a local cultural event that has grown in ten years from a small candelight vigil on Broad Street to a four-day gathering. The event opens Friday night in downtown Nevada City with a round dance in the street.

On Saturday, traditional runners will carry a salmon seven miles from Parks Bar to Bridgeport State Park at the South Yuba River, to an ancient riverside Maidu gathering called “Calling Back the Salmon.” This year the town of Smartsville will honor the runners as they pass through the town.

On Sunday, descendants of famous natives will join Navajo flutists, Maori healers, Hawaiian dancers, and a women’s drum circle for a day of celebration at the site of a traditional Maidu village, now the Maidu Active Cultural Center, or MACC, just outside Nevada City.

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Story telling, a round dance, and fry bread are part of the children’s celebration on Monday morning at Miners Foundry, in downtown Nevada City. A ‘mother drum’ will hold the stage during an afternoon of discussions. Descendants, elders, and others will talk about healing soul wounds and reviving the Maidu language. The four day celebration ends with the Richard Prout Memorial Dinner.

IPD is an effort by local Tsi Akim Maidu tribal members to honor ancestors and heal the wounds of a history of genocide that began long before the Gold Rush.

“Indigenous Peoples Days is not just a celebration of American Indian culture, but every culture that has been oppressed by colonial power,” according to Michael Ben Ortiz, a Choctaw man and a primary organizer. “People gain a greater sense of their identity. We share a deeper sense of respect for each other and the land we live on.”

The all-volunteer, drug and alcohol free event is free and open to the public.

Contributions are requested, especially for food. Guests are asked to bring table ware and seating to the outdoor events.

For more information, see indigenouspeoplesdays.org or callingbackthesalmon.org, or call the Tsi Akim Maidu Thrift Store, (530) 477-0711.

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